The Obesity Epidemic: Towards a Regulatory Framework to Combat Obesity in New Zealand

<p>There is currently a global obesity epidemic and New Zealand, like many other countries, has high levels of obesity both in the adult and child population. This presents a threat to society due to the risk to individual and population health, and the impact on public services. A major contributor to obesity levels is the nature of the current eating environment; one in which various factors make it natural and easy to lead an unhealthy lifestyle. By targeting these, the law could help to combat the obesity epidemic. Historically, attempts to address obesity through legal means have encountered opposition on paternalistic grounds. Given the threat that obesity poses, both to the individual and society as a whole, a certain level of paternalism is justified to control it, particularly when it comes to the protection of children. Currently, legal measures to control obesity can be implemented in New Zealand without resorting to hard paternalism. The law should be used to increase regulation of the food industry, rather than using it to control food intake directly. This is a softer paternalistic approach and includes changes to labelling requirements and the regulation of the marketing to mandate for improved information to be disseminated about food products. It also includes the implementation of a universal nutrient profiling system to overcome any problems associated with deciding which food products should be subject to increased regulation. Change to the eating environment in New Zealand could also be facilitated via the implementation of a fat-tax to address the price inequalities between healthy and unhealthy food products. Currently the food industry in New Zealand is minimally regulated by statute, with an emphasis on food safety and hygiene. This is no longer appropriate given rising levels of obesity. Furthermore, it is no longer appropriate that food product marketing be regulated by the industry, given its contribution to obesity levels, and the obvious conflict of interest. Notwithstanding that obesity control in New Zealand can presently be tackled using such an approach, a higher level of paternalism is necessary for measures aimed at children. Therefore, in the current food environment, paternalistic health laws, designed to protect children, are justified on the basis of the risk to children, and the need to protect them. Additionally, the need for a more paternalistic approach to obesity control generally must be kept under continual review, particularly in light of studies linking food with addiction. Although food litigation has been initiated against food companies by the obese in other jurisdictions, and has had an impact on the eating environment, this is not a realistic prospect in New Zealand, even as a last resort, in the absence of appropriate regulation.</p>

The Obesity Epidemic: Towards a Regulatory Framework to Combat Obesity in New Zealand

<p>There is currently a global obesity epidemic and New Zealand, like many other countries, has high levels of obesity both in the adult and child population. This presents a threat to society due to the risk to individual and population health, and the impact on public services. A major contributor to obesity levels is the nature of the current eating environment; one in which various factors make it natural and easy to lead an unhealthy lifestyle. By targeting these, the law could help to combat the obesity epidemic. Historically, attempts to address obesity through legal means have encountered opposition on paternalistic grounds. Given the threat that obesity poses, both to the individual and society as a whole, a certain level of paternalism is justified to control it, particularly when it comes to the protection of children. Currently, legal measures to control obesity can be implemented in New Zealand without resorting to hard paternalism. The law should be used to increase regulation of the food industry, rather than using it to control food intake directly. This is a softer paternalistic approach and includes changes to labelling requirements and the regulation of the marketing to mandate for improved information to be disseminated about food products. It also includes the implementation of a universal nutrient profiling system to overcome any problems associated with deciding which food products should be subject to increased regulation. Change to the eating environment in New Zealand could also be facilitated via the implementation of a fat-tax to address the price inequalities between healthy and unhealthy food products. Currently the food industry in New Zealand is minimally regulated by statute, with an emphasis on food safety and hygiene. This is no longer appropriate given rising levels of obesity. Furthermore, it is no longer appropriate that food product marketing be regulated by the industry, given its contribution to obesity levels, and the obvious conflict of interest. Notwithstanding that obesity control in New Zealand can presently be tackled using such an approach, a higher level of paternalism is necessary for measures aimed at children. Therefore, in the current food environment, paternalistic health laws, designed to protect children, are justified on the basis of the risk to children, and the need to protect them. Additionally, the need for a more paternalistic approach to obesity control generally must be kept under continual review, particularly in light of studies linking food with addiction. Although food litigation has been initiated against food companies by the obese in other jurisdictions, and has had an impact on the eating environment, this is not a realistic prospect in New Zealand, even as a last resort, in the absence of appropriate regulation.</p>

Applied Studies on Application of Capric/Caprylic MCT Oils in Food Industries

Non healthy oils & fats consumption in foods is the major reason of obesity in human beings. Common cooking oils & fats are composed of medium and long chain triglycerides. Each triglyceride consist of fatty acids called medium and long chain fatty acids abbreviated as (MCFAs & LCFAs). The ratio of LCFAs is mostly higher than the MCFAs in common cooking oils to be to be suitable for heat stress applications like cooking and frying. On the other side there is natural dietary fats are rich in Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) like coconut oil and dairy fats. Also there are synthetic medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oils which are synthetized by a processes called fractionation that extracts the MCFAs as caprylic and capric acid from the other fatty acids in the coconut or palm kernel oil. The MCFAs, shows substantial metabolic advantage compared to LCFAs. MCFAs are a preferred source of energy (b-oxidation). The last 20 years studies confirmed the potential of MCFAs to reduce body weight and may reduce fasting lipid levels more than oils rich in LCFAs. The same is true for glucose levels. In this study, the authors did chemical and instrumental studies on dietary structured MLCT and non-structured MCT/LCT cooking oils which were used for producing for weight reduction and obesity control purpose Capric /caprylic MCT oil was used as a source of MCFAs for producing of novel. Different sources of long-chain triglycerides (LCFAs) have been used including sunflower oil (SFO), Canola oil(CNO), high oleic sunflower oil (HOSFO), palm oil (PO) and double fractionated palm olein (DFOlein). The following techniques have been used for preparation of structured and non structured cooking oils in this study : 1-Physical blending. 2 - Chemical interesterification in a multipurpose batch reactor. 2- Enzymatic interesterification using immobilized Lipase enzyme in pilot scale packed bed reactor (PBR). Different analytical and instrumental techniques were used in this study including Gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), Rancimate, and smoke point tester. The study shown that the non-structured MCT/LCT oils gave reasonable heat stability, higher smoke points compared the structured MLCT oil which make it more suitable for cooking and frying applications. The chemical and enzymatic interesterification (CIE & EIE) technique yield a real structured MLCT oil which is more effective in caloric reduction and obesity control purpose during long term consumption in dietary foods, however, due to its much lower smoke point compared to its relative LCFAs oil so it will be suitable only for cold applications like salad dressing and other culinary applications. But not suitable for heat stress applications like deep or shallow frying.

Effects of Ginsenoside Rg3 on Inhibiting Differentiation, Adipogenesis, and ER Stress-Mediated Cell Death in Brown Adipocytes

Objectives. Ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3), a main active component of Panax ginseng, has various therapeutic properties in literatures, and it has been studied for its potential use in obesity control due to its antiadipogenic effects in white adipocytes. However, little is known about its effects on brown adipocytes. Methods. The mechanisms through which Rg3 inhibits differentiation, adipogenesis, and ER stress-mediated cell death in mouse primary brown adipocytes (MPBAs) are explored. Results. Rg3 significantly induced cytotoxicity in differentiated MPBAs but not in undifferentiated MPBAs. Rg3 treatment downregulated the expression of differentiation and adipogenesis markers and the level of perilipin in MPBAs while upregulating the expression of lipolytic Kruppel-like factor genes. Rg3 also induced lipolysis and efflux of triglycerides from MPBAs and subsequently increased proinflammatory cytokine levels. Notably, Rg3 treatment resulted in elevation of ER stress and proapoptotic markers in MPBAs. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate that Rg3 is able to selectively exert cytotoxicity in differentiated MPBAs while leaving undifferentiated MPBAs intact, resulting in the induction of ER stress and subsequent cell death in MPBAs via regulation of various genes related to adipocyte differentiation, adipogenesis, lipolysis, and inflammation. These results indicate that further studies on the potential therapeutic applications of Rg3 are warranted.

Lung function in obese children and adolescents without respiratory disease: a systematic review

Background Obesity in children and adolescents is associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to multisystemic impairment, including deleterious changes in lung function, which are poorly understood. Objectives To perform a systematic review to assess lung function in children and adolescents affected by obesity and to verify the presence of pulmonary changes due to obesity in individuals without previous or current respiratory diseases. Methods A systematic search was performed in the MEDLINE-PubMed (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), Embase (Excerpta Medica Database) and VHL (Virtual Health Library/Brazil) databases using the terms “Lung Function” and “Pediatric Obesity” and their corresponding synonyms in each database. A period of 10 years was considered, starting in February/2008. After the application of the filters, 33 articles were selected. Using the PICOS strategy, the following information was achieved: (Patient) children and adolescents; (Intervention/exposure) obesity; (Control) healthy children and adolescents; (Outcome) pulmonary function alterations; (Studies) randomized controlled trial, longitudinal studies (prospective and retrospective studies), cross-over studies and cross-sectional studies. Results Articles from 18 countries were included. Spirometry was the most widely used tool to assess lung function. There was high variability in lung function values, with a trend towards reduced lung function markers (FEV1/FVC, FRC, ERV and RV) in obese children and adolescents. Conclusion Lung function, measured by several tools, shows numerous markers with contradictory alterations. Differences concerning the reported results of lung function do not allow us to reach a consensus on lung function changes in children and adolescents with obesity, highlighting the need for more publications on this topic with a standardized methodology.